CNG consumers yet to get any relief despite cut in oil & gas prices

PESHAWAR: The compressed natural gas (CNG) consumers are yet to get any relief in prices of the commodity despite a dramatic cut in oil and gas prices in international market.At gas stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, CNG is being sold at Rs139 per kg though oil and gas prices have been drastically reduced in the international market due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The government last month reduced the price of petrol by Rs15 per litre against the proposed reduction of Rs20.68, bringing down the price to Rs81.58 per litre compared to the earlier Rs96.58. Also, Rs27.15 per litre was cut in the price of high speed diesel that is now being sold at Rs80.10 per litre compared to its previous rate of Rs107.25. However, no cut in the prices of CNG, which is an alternative to petrol, has been announced so far in a situation when the whole world is passing through financial crises and energy prices have come down unprecedentedly.The oil and gas consumption has also come down in the country thus reducing oil import bill to a reasonable level, but neither the benefit of reduction in oil prices keeping in view the slump in prices in international market was passed on to the consumers nor any relief provided in gas or CNG sector. It would be no exaggeration to say that the scapegoats are the end consumers who have to suffer due to the high prices of oil and gas and are fleeced by gas station owners through adulteration in petrol and filling air in gas cylinders instead of CNG.